Rocking the Boat

A woman with long, thick dark brown hair walked up to the front door of the Roberts house on Tuesday. Her high heels clacked with every step she took. Her deep brown eyes shone with confidence, and despite her lack of height, she could've been a mountain. But inside, she was nervous as hell. She marched up to the front door and knocked, not wanting to bother with her keys.

Upstairs, Ryan heard the knocking. He knew he shouldn't leave Marissa, but he didn't feel like he had a choice. Whoever it was would wake Marissa from her uneasy sleep. It had taken a long time to persuade her she needed to rest. Ryan padded down the stairs and swung open the door. He was shocked by the sight he saw.

"Hello," he said, his mind wrought with confusion. This woman, she looked exactly like Summer. Except...her voice. And her smile. And then, realization hit him. "You must be Mrs. Roberts."

"And you must be Seth Cohen. Darling, it's Michelle to you," Michelle said flirtatiously, holding out her hand. Ryan had never felt more repulsion toward a person in his life. She mistakenly thought he was Seth, who he presumed she knew was her daughter's boyfriend. And here she was, flirting with him.

"I'm Seth's brother, Ryan," Ryan replied, struggling to keep his complete and utter disdain for the woman before him out of his voice.

"Oh, well...hopefully Seth looks a lot like you," Michelle grinned. Ryan didn't say anything. He just raised his eyebrows. "Not much of a talker are you," the lady continued.

"I'm not. Not to be rude, but..." Ryan began.

"Why am I here? I wanted to see Summer, talk to her," Michelle answered.

"Well...I'll let her know you're here."

"Why aren't you kids in school," asked Michelle disinterestedly as she walked in and sat on the couch. She folded her legs neatly and propped her chin on her hand, which was adorned with assorted jems. Ryan used his face to convey his thoughts as he turned around and walked upstairs. Michelle removed her black suede Manolo boots from her feet lazily.

"Hey guys, Summer's mom's here," Ryan said. Summer bolted out of bed.

"What? Oh my god. Wow. Ok. Mom's here. No. Seth, wake up," Summer said as she prodded her boyfriend's shoulder.

"What?" Seth asked as he got out of bed.

"My mom's here," Summer said as she frantically searched her closet for some clothes. She threw on a pair of rumpled jeans and a worn black t-shirt.

"What? Oh my god. Wow. Ok. Your mom's here. No. Do you wanna see her?"

"No...kind of. I don't know. But I'm gonna." Summer shrugged.

"Do you want us to come with, or do you wanna go alone?" Ryan asked.

"I want all of you with me. I really want Coop there too, but she's probably asleep, no?" Summer said.

"I'm awake," said Marissa as she stumbled into Summer's room, hair brush in hand.

"Good," Seth said.

"Alright guys, let's go," Summer muttered.

"Summer!" Michelle cried as she ran up to her daughter. Summer stood still in shock. "Oh honey, you're so grown up. You're so gorgeous! And these must be your friends! I've met Ryan, already, charming young man, and this must be Seth Cohen, Caleb Nicol's grand-son. And Marissa! Gosh you're so tall!" Still, Summer stood still. "Well, honey, aren't you going to say something? Like 'I missed you mom, thanks so much for visiting?'"

"I know about you and dad," Summer said softly.

"Uh...what?" Michelle said.

"I know you're pregnant, I know he had an affair with you," Summer continued.

"Seems like small potatoes compared to the other stuff you been through honey. I saw in the papers that you've been running off and involved in murder cases and the like," Michelle said calmly.

"So? You still left. And you came back so you could have an affair with dad while he was married to my best friend's mom, who by the way is pregnant too, with Jimmy Cooper's child," Summer said calmly.

"Hon, maybe we should talk about this in private," Michelle stated. For the first time in the conversation, she began to show some anxiety. She tugged on her silver hoop ear rings.

"I don't think so mom. I don't trust myself alone with you," Summer said darkly, her temper rising. "After you left, I started developing rage problems. Not that you'd know."

"I want to know. I want to be a part of your life," Michelle said. "We're family."

"No we're not. They're my family," Summer said, gesturing towards Seth, Marissa, and Ryan.

"Summer. The affairs are not reason to discount me," Michelle protested.

"They were reason enough for you to discount me," Summer replied icily.

"Come now honey, that's not fair, really," Michelle sighed as she settled back into the couch.

"What wasn't fair was me growing up without a mother. I've heard what you've had to say. It's empty, and god mom, it's not even rehearsed," Summer said as she walked away. "Show yourself out," was added as an after thought. Summer ran up the stairs.

"Summer, really...we need to talk," Michelle said as she ran after her daughter. The two were face to face in the hallway. Summer realized that she and her mom were exactly the same height. As she stared her mom down, she finally took in the fact that they had the same eyes, well, basically the same everything. Her mom was something she simply could not ignore. There were other alternatives.

"Ok mom. We can talk–I guess. But I, I need some time to think, to clear my head," Summer said slowly.

"Ok hon. I'm stayin' at the Four Seasons when you're about ready to talk to me," Michelle grinned as she walked out. "See y'all later," Michelle smiled widely showing off a row of pearly white teeth as she did so. Marissa, Ryan and Seth scoffed audibly as the door slammed shut.

"What a ho bag. I mean, did you see her skirt," Marissa asked in a scandalized tone. She rolled her eyes. "Well, of course you saw it. I'm surprised she didn't make a pass at you," Marissa chuckled to herself.

"Yeah, right..." Ryan muttered uneasily.

"Only she did..." Seth said under his breath so Marissa couldn't hear it but Ryan could."

"Hey guys," Summer smiled as she marched down the stairs. She was now wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, four inch pumps, and a purple spaghetti strapped tank.

"Um hi Summer, you look..." Seth trailed off.

"Right Cohen. Let's get out of here guys," Summer grinned.

"Uhh, what? Summer seriously," Marissa said as she walked up to her friend. Summer tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"I need to get out of Newport. Now," Summer declared forcefully.

"But--" Ryan began. He was cut off by the phone ringing. No one picked up so the phone rang on. The four friends stood in silence.

"Hi, it's Julie. Neil, I just wanted to let you know James and I think we should all meet tonight to discuss our, um, problem. I think we should have a family dinner tonight, and maybe invite over your guest. Jimmy not now..." girlish laughter followed and then the message cut off.

Marissa bit her lip and looked down, a sullen expression taking over her countenance.

"Where is it you want to go," Ryan asked, as he fully took in the events that were and had unfolded around him. Summer sighed deeply and sat down on the couch. Julie and Jimmy walked through the front door, hand in hand. Marissa fainted on the spot.